Method and means for attaching wires to one another.



'J. a. 1). MAG

METHOD AND MEANS FOR ATTAOHI ES APPLICATION FILED 1 10 TO ONE ANOTHER.

J. G. D. MACK. METHODAND MEANS FOR ATTAOHING WIRES T0 01m ANOTHER.

APPLIOATION FILED MAB. I, 1907.

Patented Jan. 4, 1910. 2 SHEETS-11331 2.

- PDEQEL' WI messes:

Q fi %-x UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN G. D. MACK, OF MADISON, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO JOSEPH M. DAVIS, F

' CINCINNATI, OHIO.

' Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 4, 1910.

Application filed March 11, 1907. Started No. 361,652.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN G. D. MACK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Madison, in the county of Dane and b'tate of Wisconsin, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Methods and Means for Attaching Wires to One Another,

of which the following is a full, clear, conelse, and exact description, reference being 3 had to'the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to metallic construction, and is particularly applicable where it is necessary to join or connect wires or metallic ribbons for structural purposes.

More specifically my invention contemplates a method and means for attaching wires or ribbons to one another at their points of intersection or junction.

While my inventionis thus applicable to many structures of various kinds, its utility will be apparent when considered in connection with the manufacture of bed springs.

I shall therefore describe a novel form of bed spring in the construction of whiclr my invention is involved.

The form of bed spring to which my invention is particularly applicable is that in which a large number of upholsterers springs are connected or joined together in such a way that they stand vertically beneath the mattress which is to be supported. In a bed spring of this general description it is generally necessary to tie the individual upolsterers. springs to prevent relative motion in either a lateral or longitudinal direction, atthe same time permitting, of course, such vertical movement as the weight upon the springs may require. It has been the custom to cross-tie the springs at top and bottom by means of wires attached in one way or another to the upper and lower convolutions of the helical springs. \Vhen applied to the construction of bed springs of this character my invention has particularly to do with the method and means by which these tie-wires are attached to the springs.

So far as I am aware. the methods and devices of the prior-art have been defective from a mechanical standpoint, or are so designed that they must be applied by hand, as opposed to purely machine operations.

It is an especial object of my invention to provide a construction in which the tiewires may be applied by the operation of machines of various kinds, and in this connection it may be remarked that no contlnnously twisting or weaving operations are required in the application of my invention in the attachment of tie-wires to a great number of upholsterers spripgs so arranged as to form a completed bed-s ring.

The objects of my invention may be accomplished by running tie-wires across the top or bottom ofa set of upholsterers springs properly arranged in place, whereupon the tie-wires are formed into a double crook at each of the points where it is desired to connect the tie-wire with a s ring or another wire. The two loops 0' the double crook are then bent or twisted around the intersecting wires at the ]lll'lCtlOll point,

one loop being twisted in one direction and the other in the reverse direction.

As there are many modifications of the details of the method and means of my invention, I can, perhaps, best explain its essential features by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a small bed spring cross-tied in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing more clearly the manner in which the tie-wires are connected at their points of intersection; Fig. 3 is another enlarged view' showing a slightly modified way of applying the tiewires; Fig. 4 illustrates an intermediate step in the formation and application of do wires; F ig. 5 shows various steps in the. method, while Figs. 6, 7 and 8 show in side elevation the various steps involved in the application of my invention, and Figs. 9. and 10 illustrate two of the various modifications of the double crook which is formed in the tie-wire as one of the steps in carrying out my invention.

In Fig. l I have indicated an outer frame work 20, the construction of \vhichisimmaterial to the use of my invention but which in a general way serves to support in position the npholsterers springs indicated at 21, $21. In this figure I have illustrated tiewires 22, 22, running across the tops of the springs. some longitudinally and others laterally with respect thereto.

The manner in which the tic-wires are attached to the outer convolutions oi the springs is illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. where again the upholsterers springs are represented at 21, 21, while the tic-wires as a whole are shown at 22, 22. It will be apparent from an inspection of these drawings thatat each point of junction of a tie-wire with the wire of a spring the tie-wire is twisted over the, wire of'the spring in. one direction where the wire is reversed to form a loop, which is then bent or twisted back over the spring in .a reverse direction for some distance where again the wire is reversed upon itself to form. another loop, where again the wire is twisted around the wire ofthe spring in the same direction as at first, whereupon it is continued across 'a series of springs, preferably, though not wires are attached to the springs themselves.

The method in which the tie-wires are joined to the springs at their junction points is best illustrated in the second sheet of the drawings. In Fig. 4 I have illustratedthe tops of two adjacent sprin s 21,21, across which the tie-wire 22 has been run. At the junction points this tiewire is formed into double crooks, as shown. As clearly shown in the drawings, the loops of the S-shaped crook are all formed in a common plane. This uni-planar formation of the crooks is of very materialadvantage in simplifying the requirements of a machine for forming them. It is a much simpler and easier matter to devise a machine for bending the wire in one plane than it is to devise a machine for bending thewire into more complicated shapes. These crooks may be formed in the tie-wire in advance of its application to the .set of upholsterers springs, the double crooks being spaced so as to fall directly above the spring wires to which the tiewi-re is to be attached. I y

In Fig. 6 I have indicated the relations between the wire of the spring and the tiea wire, this view being taken in the direction of the arrow 23, as found in Fig. 4. In Fig. 6 the fully formed double crook is shown The crook is laid fiat upon the outer convolution of the spring, the plane in which this convolution is formed coinciding substantially with that in which the entire uni-planar crook isformed and laid.

In Fig. 7 the two loops 2'5 and 26 are @shown in. the process of being bent about the spring wire 27. In Fig. 8 these loops are shown suflicient'ly bent or twisted around the spring wire 27. This process of bend-' ing or twistingthe loops of the double crook concentrated at the junction points is un-.

The attachment is,

obj ectionably small.

free however, firm and unyielding, and from slippage.

In Fig. 5 I have indicated a modification of the process of cross-tying in which the loops of each double crook are bent-or twisted about the intersecting wire before another double crook is formed. Thus, at the junction point 28 a completed joint is shown. At the junction point 29 'the .tie-

wire 22 has been formed into the'double crookbut the loops have not as yet been bent about the wire of the spring 21.- At the junction points 30 and 31 the tie-wire has not even been formed into the double crook, and in accordance with this modification of my invention the double crook at the point 30 maybe formed after the bending of the loops at the junction point 29, or substantially simultaneously therewith. So

wire either successively orsimultaneously, although for most purposes I consider it preferable to bend the two loops simultaneously.

It is important that there shall be no interference between the loops as they are bent around the spring or other cross wire. To avoid such interference I have found it desirable to connect the two loops of double crook by a staggered or offset piece of wire as indicated in Figs. 9 and 10. Itwill be apparent that the loops of these formations may be bent or twisted about a cross wire without causing the loops tointerfere with one another at the under side of the cross wire. These figures will illustrate also the manner in which the tie wire is formed into crooks having intermediate sections substantially parallel in a general way with the balance of the tie wire. The three substantially parallel sections of each crook all lie in a-common plane, and the tie wire is -=,not bent or crossed upon itself at .any point.

It will be apparent to those skilled 1n the art of machine construction and operation that this method of cross-tying bed springs is one which can be accomplished by automatic machinery of someform. My invention provides also a strong and durablehave herein shown and described it will be apparent that many modifications of my invention ma be made without departing from the spirit thereof. I do not,

therefore, wish to limit myself to the precise methods and constructions shown, but

Having described these forms of my invention 1 claim as new andldesire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In combination, a plurality of upholsterers springs having their outer convolutions alined in a common plane, and a .tie wire passing diametrically across the outer convolutions of said springs and having a plurality of S-shaped uni-planar crooks each composed of three substantially parallel sections, but-withadeflected intermediate section for olfsetting .the two loops of each crook with respect to one another, one of said crooks being formed at each junction point of the tie Wire with an outer convolution of a spring, one loop of each crook being bent about the engaging spring wire in one direction, and the other loop of each crook being bent about. the engaging spring wire in the reverse direction, thereby attaching the tie Wire to the outer convolutions of thesprings, substantially as described.

2. A tie-Wire for upholsterers springs, said tie-wire having an S-shaped crook at each junction point with said springs, each crook being composed of three substantially parallel sections all lying in a common plane, each intermediate section being connected with one outer section at one end and with the other outer section at the other end but with one loop of each crook offset with re spect to the other loop of the same crook, whereby one loop may be bent around a cross-wire in one direction and the other loop in the other direction without interference between the two loops, said tie-Wire adapted to be laid substantially diametrically acrossthe outer convolutions of said springs and to secure said springs together by bringing the three sections of each crook into contact with the outer convolutions of the spring and then bending one loop of each crook about the associated spring wire in one direction and bending the other loop of the crook about the associated spring wire in the reverse direction while maintaining the engagement of all three sections of each crook with the spring wire.

In Witness whereof, l hereunto subscribe my name this sixth day of March A. D..

JOHN G. D. MACK. \Vitnesses:

ADOLPH H. GLENz, HERMAN J. Gaunt. 

